Pack Printing Inkjet System Assists Manufacturers in GMP

Hapa has updated its 800 LabelJet UV Drop On Demand InkJet system to enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to achieve an optimum blend of print quality and operating efficiencies, while also complying with current and forthcoming industry regulations.  

Launched in 2008 as a replacement for the hugely successful Hapa 400 — of which 250 machines have been installed globally since the 1980s — the upgraded LabelJet 800 features new software that ensures optimum performance by driving the printheads to produce print resolutions of outstanding quality and clarity.

Available in reel-to-reel or inline executions, the LabelJet system is a complete unit incorporating printer modules combined with a customised label feed, offering a full digital, four colour (CMYK) approach. With the Delegated Acts for the EU’s Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) set to be announced in 2014, the system also crucially includes the intelligence to complete the current print cycle during line stoppages, thereby ensuring that there is no impact on print quality or packaging line efficiency.  

Reject products can potentially cause reconciliation issues for serialisation schemes (which are a key requirement of the FMD, with each product needing its own unique code to ensure traceability) but with Hapa’s ‘stop-start’ technology, the waste of label stock will be dramatically reduced, as well as the percentage of false rejects. The numerous benefits include easier and less costly stockholding, elimination of obsolete packaging stock resulting in significantly reduced waste and the ability to save through bulk purchasing of blank materials.  

The LabelJet can also accommodate different sizes of label web widths, and, no matter the size, the LabelJet can print small characters such as a 2D data matrix code at A-grade levels. The printheads — which are driven by Hapa’s software —also operate with high specification UV inks, are extremely resistant to both smudging and scuffing and stand up to uncompromising scrutiny from OCR/OCV systems.  

“Variations in product, dosage strength, pack sizes and local market requirements traditionally create the need for hundreds of different packaging variants,” explained Roy Taylor, Managing Director of Hapa UK and Ireland. “With in-house late stage customisation, however, the need for huge inventory is largely alleviated; instead, companies can use blank or part-printed stock that, for the handling of complex production schedules with many short batches, delivers a host of benefits.  

“Plus, with pharmaceutical manufacturers facing the most extreme demands on their product operations in years, late stage customisation enables producers to satisfy customer demand almost immediately, thereby meeting the twin objectives of increasing customer satisfaction through reduced lead times, while improving operational efficiency and profitability — despite the challenges of FMD compliance.”

Hapa AG, +44 1480 414242, roy.taylor@hapa.ch, www.hapa.ch.